Participatory Territorial Narrative Mechanisms

Estia Bookshop

Nikos Anastasopoulos sent us this photo of Estia Bookshop, all books dispersed on the floor. I understund that he felt emotionally when taking it, carried away by the abandonment and deconstruction of the site. His photo was taken through a convex light.

I recall a fragment from the poem “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror” by John Ashbery: “Of arrival. The soul establishes itself. But how far can it swim through the eyes And still return safely to its nest? The surface Of the mirror being convex, the distance increases Significally; that is, enough to make the point That the soul is a captive, treated humanely, kept In suspention, unable to advance much farther Than your look as it intercepts the picture.”

And then he again sent us another photo, of X.. swimming in the books,..

“So the room contains this flow like an hourglass Without varying in climate or quality (Except perhaps to brighten bleakly and almost Invisibly, in a focus sharpening toward death-more Of this later). What should be the vacuum of a dream Βecomes continually replete as the source of dreams”

Photos by Angela Svoronou

Nikos Anastasopoulos, referring to the performance of Angelos Skourtis, says: “The historic Hestia bookstore isn’t open any longer. The space which used to be occupied by books on Solonos street feels deconstructed already. In this very space Angelos Skourtis ‘choreographes’ a unique and poetic performative experience. The presence of everyone invited requires a participation in this choreography. Books are lying on the floor as islands and we are called upon to move through them, being aware of our motions”.